Frank Carlson Library

"A gripping and authentic World War II naval adventure by a master storyteller The Hooligans fictionalizes the little-known but remarkable exploits of "The Hooligan Navy" that fought in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Loosely-organized in fast moving squadrons, PT (patrol torpedo) boats were the pesky nemesis of the formidable Japanese navy, dubbed "the mosquito fleet" and "devil boats" for their daring raids against warships, tankers, and transport...

Recreates the naval battle between Japanese and American forces which was the decisive factor in the Pacific theater during World War II.

In June, 1944, American and Japanese carrier fleets made their way through the Philippine Sea, both hoping to take control of the vital Marianas Islands. When they met, they embarked upon a naval engagement that escalated into the most spectacular aircraft carrier battle in history. Here is the true account of the battle, told from both sides - by those who were there. Drawing upon numerous interviews as well as official sources, Clash of the Carriers...

Examines one of the enigmas of WWII, the fate of the submarine USS Grunion that vanished without a trace in 1942 carrying a crew of 70 men and the Navy's new top-secret MK 14 torpedoes.

In November 1943, while on war patrol in the Makassar Strait, the USS Billfish submarine was spotted by the Japanese, who launched a vicious depth charge attack. Explosions wracked the sub for fifteen straight hours. With his senior officers incapacitated, diving officer Charlie Rush boldly assumed command and led key members of the crew in a heroic effort to keep their ship intact as they tried to escape.Now, in War Beneath the Waves, this intense...

"In the early morning darkness of August 2, 1943, during a chaotic nighttime skirmish amid the Solomon Islands, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri barreled through thick fog and struck the U.S. Navy's motor torpedo boat PT 109, splitting the craft nearly in half and killing two American sailors instantly. The sea erupted in flames as the 109's skipper, John F. Kennedy, and the ten surviving crewmen under his command desperately clung to the sinking wreckage;...

At the height of the Vietnam War, Brian Holcomb, an ambitious young naval officer, discovers serious problems aboard the guided missile ship on which he is serving--problems which make the ship vulnerable to a potentially deadly air assault by the North Vietnamese, and which her captain seems unwilling or unable to address

Part one documents the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Part two examines the life of Chester Nimitz, fleet admiral and leader of the campaign in the Central Pacific during World War II.

In December 1944, America's most popular and colorful naval hero, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, unwittingly sailed his undefeated Pacific Fleet into the teeth of a powerful typhoon. Three destroyers were capsized, sending hundreds of sailors and officers into the raging, shark-infested waters. Over the next sixty hours, small bands of survivors fought seventy-foot waves, exhaustion, and dehydration to await rescue at the hands of the courageous Lt....

"Spring 1945, the Japanese fleet is virtually destroyed and they react by dispatching suicide bombers against the Allied fleet surrounding Okinawa. One destroyer, the USS Malloy, faces an even more pressing issue when Executive Officer Connie Miles realizes the ship's much-admired Captain Pudge Tallmadge is losing his mind under the relentless pressure of the attacks"--